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Philip Kimely Boit (born 12 December 1971 inEldoret,Kenya) is across-country skier and the first Kenyan to participate in theWinter Olympics. His first name is sometimes spelled as "Phillip".
Philip Boit and compatriotHenry Bitok trained inFinland to become competitive skiers. Both were former middle distance runners with no previous skiing experience. Their project was sponsored by sportswear giantNike. Winter training began in February 1996. Kenya had only one slot for the1998 Winter Olympics inNagano, which was taken by Boit, while Bitok finished his skiing career soon after. Boit's participation in the games gained worldwide media coverage. He finished 92nd and last in the 10-kilometer classic race. The awards for the race were delayed while winnerBjørn Dæhlie waited for Boit to reach the finish line to embrace him.[1]
Boit participated in the 1999Nordic skiing World Championships inRamsau,Austria, and again finished last in the 10 km classic event. After the event, Nike dropped their sponsorship and Boit was forced to settle for "dry training" in Kenya for the next two years.
In the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City, Boit finished 64th in the sprint race, beating three competitors. After the Salt Lake City Olympics Boit left competitive skiing again, but came back to participate in the2006 Winter Olympics inTurin where he finished 92nd in the 15 km Classic, ahead of five fellow competitors. Boit said in a 2006 interview that he was planning to retire after the2010 Winter Olympics to be held inVancouver.
In 2007, he competed in theWorld Ski Championships held inSapporo, Japan, the same country where he started his Olympic career.
Boit had planned to retire after the 2010 Winter Olympics. However, he did not meet the requirements needed to start in the Games as he missed the limit by two FIS points. His attempts to qualify for the Olympics had been hampered by illness. After missing the Olympics, Boit decided to continue his career by a year and retire after the2011 World Championships to be held inOslo, Norway.[2] Boit finished 42nd during qualification, and therefore was unable to compete in the15 kilometre classical.[3]
After graduating from Samwayi Secondary School, he was recruited to theGeneral Service Unit in 1992, where was able to enhance his athletics career. As an athlete, he was a bit behind the top Kenyan runners. His800 meter personal best is 1:46.06.
Philip's uncleMike Boit won the bronze medal in the 800 meters at the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich.
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flag bearer for KenyaNagano 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Flag bearer for Kenya Salt Lake City 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Flag bearer for Kenya Turin 2006 | Succeeded by |